Breaking Ground on new shop.

[Jerome Hanby]

That's not a bad idea at all!

[Cameron Handyside]

One of the "uh-oh's" to pop up is my inability to measure twice.

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My 10' ceiling turns out to be about 10'-4" from the bottom of the ceiling ply. I thought I would be trimming the middle course to less than 24" but turns out it's about 25" (see gap in the pic). Can't waste 1/2 a sheet of ply so I ran a 24" strip and will have to raise the bottom sheet up to be flush. The seam will be covered by a french cleat system but I'm too OCD to leave a gap (even hidden). Hindsight shows I should have snapped a level chalk line at the ceiling and worked down. Otherwise things are moving along slowly; still waiting for the rain to stop so the masons can start bricking!

[Don Jarvie]

Just fill in the strip as is and then caulk the seams. Between the caulk and the paint it really wont be noticible especially once all of the cabinets are hung and tools are put in place.

[Jerome Hanby]

Seems like you ought to be able to make lemonade out of those lemons. That gap sure look like a handy height. Wonder if you could turn it into a permanent power strip? Be nice to have a plug handy wherever you happened to be... Maybe use it to run airlines from your compressor...

[Cameron Handyside]

Brick showed up yesterday and we installed the windows. Amazing how much more light those windows let into the shop! I'm still debating the little "gap" in my paneling but plan to resolve it and paint the interior this weekend.

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[Don Jarvie]

Paint it and see what it looks like. You can always fill in the gaps later and touch them up.

[Thom Porterfield]

I agree with Jerome. Use the gap for utility access: electric, compressed air, etc. Cover it with easily removable pieces of metal or wood. I wish I had a feature like that in my shop.

[Cameron Handyside]

Well, my OCD took over and I raised the lower panels to clear up that gap. I'll make up for it when I float the wood floor and add a simple baseboard. BUT we started laying brick last week and while it's slow going, we are making progress.

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The masons are doing a great job and the bricks are not a perfect match but close enough. We are preparing to order the cedar to create the pergola connection between buildings. I had hoped to paint the interior this weekend but looks too cold for that.

[Cameron Handyside]

Not much to report other than the masons continue to brick when weather allows. Hoping the weather holds enough to do a little painting this weekend.

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[Sam Layton]

It is sure looking good Cameron. I hope your weather holds out so you can get finished. Thanks for the photo's.

Sam

[Cameron Handyside]

Thanks and it's fun sharing the progress. We are close to completion on the bulk of brick work; thanks to some very moderate weather here in N. Alabama. We installed the cupola this week; it's both funtional and decorative. It is the attic vent and has a small light. We really like the concept but not sure if the scale is right. Not having much experience w/ cupolas; we're wondering if it is too small, tall or just doesn't work w/ the slope of the roof...

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[Cameron Handyside]

We've made some good progress on the shop since my last post. The masons have finished bricking the main portion of the building and even trimmed up the new pedestrian door in the existing garage. Fortunately, we had a cache of bricks from the original construction that I've kept around for years. New brick never match 20 year old brick no matter how close the color. They did a great job and once the mortar dries, it'll be hard to see the patch.

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We also formed and poured the footings for the cedar posts that will support the pergola between buildings. Due to building code and neighborhood covenants, all garages have to be attached. But that can be accomplished with a simple breeze way; in our case, we decided to build a large pergola that will cover the entire space. It'll be made from WRC and covered w/ translucent polycarbonate. We hope it'll make a nice, shaded space during very hot Alabama summers.

I also got around to painting the interior of the shop. I wanted to tackle the interior myself but was holding up the electricians, who want to hang the lights and finish installing outlets. I rented a power sprayer and by the end had the hang of it. Spraying is the only way to go. My only tips are good masking and scaffold. I could spray the ceiling and walls by myself in less than 2 hours. The hardest part was cleaning up the machine...

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[Jeff Monson]

. The hardest part was cleaning up the machine...

Thats the bad part about a paint sprayer!!

Your shop is looking great Cameron, love the layout and exterior appearance.

[Randy Rose]

Calling that beautiful brick building a "shop" has to be the understatement of the century.

[Aaron Berk]

Cover the gap with a 1x4 and use it as a cleat for your cabinets to rest on, or turn the 1x4 into the lower course of a whole shop FRENCH CLEAT system, and nail another one at a higher elevation.






edit: I'm jealous.
Just thought I'd let you know